ALAIN Senderens thinks he must have been Asian in a previous life. Otherwise, why would the three-Michelin-star French chef so love adding Asian culinary elements to his creations?

Senderens often finds inspiration in Chinese, Thai, Japanese and Indian cuisine for his French food creations, which have turned out to be very popular among French people themselves.

As a guest chef at the Sofitel Jin Jiang Oriental Pudong for a week from March 7 to 12, Senderens elaborately prepared a menu for local diners, introducing dishes from his renowned restaurant Lucas Carton in Paris.

Invited specially by the Chinese Government, he paid his first trip to China 20 years ago to study Chinese cuisine during a two-month stay in the country.

Ever since, he has used lots of Sichuan pepper, ginger and soya sauce in his cooking.

Sometimes, when he could not find the same ingredients in France, he would try to find equivalent substitutes. He once tasted duck in China that was just 10 days old and thought it was delicious. But after searching a long time for the same kind of duck in France he gave up and turned to boned pigeon instead, with satisfactory results.

Senderens also introduced Chinese dim sum to French cuisine, serving it before meals as an appetizer.

As the first restaurant chef to create menus in which each dish is served with a specially selected wine, Senderens is a firm believer in the idea that true gastronomy should be a marriage of food and drink. Sometimes wine even comes in first place, before the food.

"He knows wine even better than food," said Eric Obeuf, general manager of Sofitel Lyon Bellecour, where Senderens works as a coach chef.

On Senderens' menus, the wine is always listed before each dish. He thinks perfection is achieved when wine and food combine harmoniously. Whenever any subtle imperfection is found, Senderens changes the food to better match the wine.

"I taste 12 to 14 different wines every day," he said.

While remaining faithful to traditional French cooking, Senderens opens himself to new culinary concepts.

"French cuisine today is much lighter than before, using less cream and butter," he said.

He loves to experiment and innovate new dishes, such as the Variation of Green Asparagus and Crab with Fresh Herbs on the menu he prepared for Shanghai diners. Beside the asparagus and crabs cooked in a traditional way, he also made cappuccino asparagus - whipped and creamy in a way loved by young adventurous diners in France.

Yet Senderens' experience tells him that "new fads" come and go in a few years, with only "classic" dishes lasting forever. An example is the steamed goose liver cooked in green cabbage that has been kept on his menu for more than 25 years.

Senderens said he has been brewing up a plan to establish his own restaurant in China, where each course will be accompanied by a different tea.

On this short trip to Shanghai, Senderens brought his student chef, Frederic Robert, with him. Robert is one of the two assistants to Senderens in the Lucas Carton restaurant. He will stay in the Grand Cafe in the hotel until March 18, cooking Lucas Carton dishes for a week after Sederens returns home.